


Movie Night

by Ero_the_Great_I



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Now I'm just writing outta my ass here.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 01:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3710533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ero_the_Great_I/pseuds/Ero_the_Great_I
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Visits. With everything have settled into a comfortable routine, Max now has to deal with her attraction to one of her friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

> And third one’s a charm. This takes place some time after the game and since the game isn’t done yet I’m clearly writing out of my ass here. Still I hope you’ll enjoy it. There’s at least one more to come after this.

**Movie Night**

 

_How long are you gonna stand here, Caulfield?_ Max asked herself, eyes staring at the door in front of her. Kate's door. The door of the girl she liked. Kissed, in fact. Too bad she rewound time afterwards, but at the time it was the right thing to do.

But it had been a while now. Kate was back, welcomed by almost everyone in the dorm, notable exceptions being Victoria, Taylor and Courtney. But even they were friendly enough to keep their distance and not harass Kate anymore. Max guessed the shock that their actions almost caused someone to actually kill herself was enough for them to become civil, even going so far as to remove the _Kate twerks 4 God_ crap.

The video was most likely still around, but after all that had happened no one had been talking about it anymore.

Things were normal again. Or at least as normal as they could be if you had time powers and wanted to ask out one of your few friends. The first she had dealt with. Now the second one? That's where it started to become tricky. Because she had no idea how she should do it.

Movies and books made it always look so easy. Real life? Not so much. And she had no one she could ask for advice other than Chloe, who was already having a field day with the fact that she liked Kate, and Dana, who she was pretty sure had no idea how to ask another girl out period. So Max was left to her own devices.

_This shouldn't be so hard. She kissed you back after all. But,_ Max released a small sigh. _What if she was just seeking comfort? What if she doesn't even like me like that?_

She shook her head. _This is stupid, I should just forget about it._ Max turned on her heels and wanted to walk back to her room, but a nagging feeling in her mind made her turn around once again, staring at the door.

_Just knock, dammit!_ With a groan Max raised her right hand, ready to knock, when a voice made her stop.

“Max, what are you doing in front of my room?” It was Kate. Max turned her head to look at the other girl, standing in the hallway, looking at her with questioning eyes, a little surprised to see her standing there.

Max blushed, her hand falling back to her side in embarrassment at being caught here. _Why am I blushing? I can totally stand here, right? Man..._

“I wanted to talk to you.”

Kate chuckled. “Sorry, I was talking with Stella in her room”, she pointed to the back of the hall where said girl was standing in the doorway, giving Max a casual wave. “And when I came out I saw you standing here, staring at my door like you were in a trance.”

“Was I?” Max asked and her eyes darted to the side while her right hand went to the back of her neck. “I guess I... kinda got lost in thought.”

“Okay”, Kate said simply and a small smile formed on her lips. Those damn pretty lips. “So what was it you wanted to talk with me about?”

“Nothing important really.” _Liar._ “Just wanted to ask what's up.”

“Oh. Well we were just making plans for tonight. Alyssa, Stella and I wanted to watch a movie an-”

“Just ask her if she wants to watch it with us. The more the merrier and it's about time we all hung out together.” Stella shouted from down the hall, leaning against her door frame.

Max watched as Kate shrugged with a small grin forming on her face.  “Well. What she said.”

“Sounds good.” Even if she would rather spend some time alone with her.

“Great.” Kate took hold of both her hands and Max felt her heart go a little quicker. “I have to go to the club meeting now, so see you later.”

Kate let go of her hands and turned around, walking down the hall.

“Yeah, later”, Max said, watching her as she left and her shoulders once again did that little shimmy.  As Kate vanished from her field of view her eyes fell on Stella, who looked her way with a single brow raised.

Straightening herself, she cleared her throat and went back into her room. Max checked her mails, deleted all the spam she only seemed to get these days, and then grabbed her camera bag. She might as well go out into town to kill some time until tonight then. She needed to buy some new film anyway.

Max left the dorm. She smiled a little when the rays of the sun hit her face. It was getting a little colder now, but it was still nice to enjoy the nice weather while it lasted. Without any hurry, she went to the main building. As she walked towards the bus stop, she noticed a familiar face sitting at the fountain.

It was Warren. He didn't seem to notice her, too busy texting. _With Brooke most likely. They REALLY should hook up._

_Wait a minute._ Max had an idea. Maybe Warren could give her some advice. He was a good listener at least. She waited until he was done with his text and approached him.

“Hey, Warren.”

“Max! Hey, how are you?” Warren greeted her, a grin on his face. He scooted over to make room for her even though Max didn't ask. She took him up on his offer.

“I'm good. And I see you're having fun too.” She said and pointed at his phone, which buzzed upon receiving a new text.

“Oh. Just Brooke”, he said and put his phone away, something that Max took for a gesture of shyness.

_I knew it!_ Max simply smiled. “I wanted to talk to you. I-uh-” she bit her bottom lip. “You see there's this friend of mine, and she's interested in someone.”

“A...friend?” he looked at her, confusion on his face until it dawned on him. A suave-ish smile formed on his lips.  “Oh, a _friend._ ”

Max didn't notice the smile nor the way he emphasized ‘friend’ or even the way he moved closer to her.

“Yeah. But she's not entirely sure if that other person likes her, too. And she asked me for advice, but I'm drawing a blank here. So what do you think, should she just be upfront and outright ask that person out on a date?”

“Well”, Warren cleared his throat. “Now if you want my humble opinion, I don't think outright asking for a date is the right thing to do. Sure he might say yes, but it would just put pressure on the whole deal. So why doesn't she just ask him to hang out with her, alone. Somewhere they might enjoy, and then slowly turn the whole thing into a date by making a few romantic gestures to set the mood, like snuggling up to him. It's been getting colder after all.”

“Hmm, maybe....” Did she almost make a mistake in wanting to directly ask Kate out on a date? She couldn't deny that she was already feeling the pressure.

Warren was right. She should just be herself. And going to a place they both would enjoy did sound like the sensible thing to do. Max nodded. _Tonight, after the movie. Just casually ask her if she wants to hang out and don't make a big deal about it. And from there take it slow. You can do it, Max!_

“Speaking of that. Would you like to catch a movie later-”

“Thanks Warren.” Max got back to her feet, making Warren's arm barely miss his target as he slowly tried to move it around her shoulder. She gave him a thankful smile. “That helped a lot. Brooke is really lucky.”

In the distance Max could see the bus approaching. She gave Warren a quick wave and jogged to the bus stop, leaving him sitting there. Alone. With only the statue as company. “Shot down again...” he sighed and took out his phone again. “What did she mean by Brooke is really lucky?”

 

**\-   -   -**

 

A few hours later, Max was back in her room once more, with new film for her camera on her shelf as well as a not-so-healthy meal from Two Whales in her stomach. Kate had just told her that Stella was on her way back from the video store and Max thought she might as well use the time to take a shower. She gathered her shower bag as well as a fresh towel.

The hallway was empty as she walked to the showers, but as she approached the door, she could hear someone else using one of the stalls, humming to herself. She entered the showers and stopped in her tracks, recognizing instantly who that voice belonged to.

It seemed that Kate had had the same idea as her.

_Just stay calm. Nothing unusual. You've been in the showers with her before_ , she thought and slowly walked to the last stall on the far end of the row. Inside the stall she removed her clothes, on one of the handles. She turned on the shower faucet, closing her eyes as the hot water hit her, and simply listened to Kate humming to herself, trying not to think of the other girl being naked.

Kate had a beautiful voice, like an angel, and part of Max wondered if she had been in a choir. She leaned against the wall and just listened. And when it ended, Max found herself already missing it dearly.

_Damn. I've got it bad_ , Max thought and grabbed the shampoo to wash her hair. As she proceeded to clean herself, she could make out the door to the showers opening and closing, signaling that Kate had left.

Max stood still for a second or two and released a sigh, turning the faucet off. She grabbed her towel, dried herself off and slipped back into her clothes, leaving the showers. As she walked out onto the hallway, the door to the floor opened and Stella walked in. _Talk about timing._

“Hey, got the movie”, Stella said when she spotted Max, holding her bag up. “Already told Alyssa to move her butt. Why don't you just go and get Kate while I get the snacks ready?”

And there it was again. That look from earlier today. “Sure. Be right back.” Max shrugged nonchalantly as Stella walked into her room.

She knew something, Max was sure of it. But there was nothing she could do about it right now but hope she didn't tell Kate. She wasted no time, opened the door to her room, threw the shower bag onto the sofa and closed the door again.

She approached Kate's room and knocked on her door. The door opened and Kate stood there, dressed in a simple sweatshirt and a pair of jogging pants. Her hair was loose and she held a hairbrush in her right hand. Max's heart skipped a beat.

“Hey... uh… Stella's back.”

“Ok, just a sec.” Kate put the brush away and joined her. They arrived at Stella's door and Kate knocked. Max couldn't help but look at the room number and then at the words REDRUM written on the board beside the door.

_All work and no play makes Stella a dull girl. So much for me to never set foot into this room_ , she thought as Stella told them to come in. _Heeeeeeere's Max!_

The first thing that Max noted about Stella's room was the nice TV. Not as nice as Victoria's. But really, who could compare to that?

“Sit down girls”, Stella said, also dressed in more comfortable attire, and pointed towards her bed. “Alyssa should be here-” a knock on the door. “Any second now.”

Max sat down next to Kate and the other girl grinned at her, pulling her legs up. She returned the grin and scooted a little closer to her, only to make sure that the others had enough space left mind you.

Alyssa walked in, the neutral expression on her face that Max was so used to. She wondered if she would ever see her smile like on that photo in Kate's room.

“Hey Max, hey Kate.”

“Hi”, said Kate while Max gave her a friendly wave.

“So what are we watching?” Alyssa asked Stella as she sat down on the bed.

“Went with a classic. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, how's that sound?”

Alyssa shrugged, seeming to not really care either way. Stella turned to Max and Kate, looking at them expectantly.

“You know I don't watch that many movies”, Kate said.

“I'm sure you'll like this one”, Max said. “It's about the holy grail. One of my favorites.”

“Well at least someone knows their stuff”, Stella said and put the movie into her laptop, then connected it with her TV. Max REALLY needed to get one of these. Maybe she should drop a subtle Christmas hint to her parents?

Stella grabbed her wireless mouse and plopped down on the bed between Max and Alyssa, placing a bowl of candy on the bed for everyone to reach. Without fanfare Stella started the movie.

It had been quite a while since Max had watched this particular movie, but it never disappointed her. A few times she found her gaze drawn to Kate, eyes never moving from the screen. Sure some scenes made her avert her eyes, usually the more brutal scenes, but overall she seemed to be enjoying herself.

Stella too was all over the movie, dropping a comment here and there of how hot Harrison Ford was back then, while Alyssa seemed rather indifferent, but watched the movie nonetheless.

As the movie drew to a close, Max felt Kate's hand take a hold of hers and rest her head against her shoulder. She stiffened for the fraction of a second, but quickly relaxed and gave Kate's hand a gentle squeeze. Her mind went back to the night in the hospital and how relieved she had felt that day.

She didn't notice Stella looking at them out of the corner of her eyes.

No sooner as the credits started, Stella jumped up from her bed and shouted: “Whoo! That was awesome!”

“I have to admit it was a very fun movie”, Kate said.

“Great, I'll strike that down as an extra win. By the way,” Stella turned to Alyssa. “You still got my trig notes? Would you mind if we could get them right now?”

Alyssa looked at her with an unreadable expression. “If you insist”, she said and got to her feet.

“Be right back you two”, Stella told them and Max could swear she was winking at her as they left. Leaving them alone.

Max. Kate. Alone.

All of a sudden it felt much hotter in here than ten seconds prior.

Kate just chuckled and moved her head from her shoulder. “Typical. So you said it's one of your favorites?”

“Y-yeah.” _Play it cool, Caulfield._ “My dad watched it with Chloe and me back when we were thirteen to show us who the original Tomb Raider was.”

“That must have been fun.”

“It was. But this here is fun too.” Max gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Technically, it was Stella who invited you, but I'm glad you joined us.”

A comfortable silence set in and they just sat there, not really paying attention to the credits that were not yet finished, their hands still joined. _No better time than now._

“Say,” Max started to chew on her bottom lip. “I was thinking...That-uh-maybe we could hang out together...You know...” _Dammit Max!_ “...Just the two of us?”

Such a simple question, one she could have asked way earlier, yet she still stumbled over her words and her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest as seconds that felt like hours passed before Kate answered.

“Sure”, Kate said and she wasn't sure if her mind played tricks on her or not, but it looked like she was blushing a little. “We did agree to go book shopping after all.”

_Of course! How could I be so dumb and forget that?_ she groaned inwardly. That could have saved her a lot of trouble! “Okay, so when's the next time you're free?”

“Hmm”, Kate turned her eyes upward in thought and looked impossibly cute while doing so. “Would next Friday be good?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

“Great.”

They didn't say anything else, just looked at each other with a smile on their faces. Kate looked so beautiful when she smiled. It made the time where she wasn't even able to give the weakest of smiles all the more painful. Sure, she still could see the pain in her eyes occasionally and would still do so for quite some time. But this time Kate knew that she wasn't alone, that her friends would be there for her. That Max would be there for her. Just like she had promised.

Max's eyes darted down to Kate's lips, small and pretty. Memories of the kiss they had shared came rushing back, how soft they had been, like velvet on naked skin. And here they were, inviting her yet again.

It took all of Max's willpower not to give in and kiss her again right now, willing her eyes to make contact with Kate's once more.

Only when the door opened did they break eye contact. They turned to look at Stella who muttered something under her breath and looked a bit... disappointed?

“Hope you weren't too lonely without us.” Stella said, all smiles in the span of two seconds.

“Nope.”

“Not at all.”

Kate and Max shared a quick look and burst into laughter.

Next Friday couldn't come soon enough.


End file.
